Yes," said Godfrey; "shall I show you the way?"

The doctor nodded and, lifting the girl carefully in his arms,
followed Godfrey out into the hall. The nurse picked up a
medicine-case from the floor and followed after.

I had expected Swain to rush forward to the couch, to make a scene,
perhaps, and had kept my hand upon his arm; but to my astonishment he
did not so much as glance in that direction. He stood patiently beside
me, with his eyes on the floor, and when my restraining hand fell
away, he walked slowly to the chair in which he had been sitting, and
dropped into it, relaxing limply as with fatigue.

Godfrey was back in a moment.

"That doctor was the nearest one I could find," he said. "He seems to
be all right. But if Miss Vaughan isn't better in the morning, I'll
get a specialist out."

"Godfrey," I said, in a low tone, "there's something the matter with
Swain," and I motioned to where he sat, flaccid and limp, apparently
half-asleep. "He is suffering from shock, or something of that sort.
It's something more, anyway, than over-wrought nerves. He seems to be
only half-conscious."

"I noticed it," said Godfrey, with a little nod. "We'll have the
doctor look at him when he comes down," and he sank wearily into a
chair. "This has been a pretty strenuous night, Lester."

"Yes; and it isn't over yet. I wonder what the man with the snake is
doing?"

"Still staring into the crystal, no doubt. Do you want to go and see?"

"No," I said decidedly, "I don't. Godfrey," I added, "doesn't the
absence of servants seem strange to you?"

"Very strange. But, I dare say, we'll find them around
somewhere--though they seem to be sound sleepers! We didn't look
through the whole house, you know. I'm not going to, either; I'm going
to let the police do that. They ought to be here pretty soon. I told
Simmonds to bring two or three men with him."

I glanced at the huddled body of the murdered man. With all the
night's excitements and surprises, we had not even touched upon that
mystery. Not a single gleam of light had been shed upon it, and yet it
was the centre about which all these other strange occurrences
revolved. Whose hand was it had thrown that cord about the throat and
drawn it tight? What motive lay behind? Fearsome and compelling must
the motive be to drive a man to such a crime! Would Simmonds be able
to divine that motive, to build the case up bit by bit until the
murderer was found? Would Godfrey?

I turn